1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to floatable buoys which are utilized in marine environments to mark specific locations and specifically to a portable marking buoy which may be easily disassembled for storage and reassembled for use and wherein the buoy includes signal devices which may include a light source that is supported by a float that is maintained in general vertical position by a depending weight assembly. An anchor line is deployed from the buoy by an automatically locking dispensing reel in such a manner as to insure that the buoy retains its initial placement in the water after its deployment. The buoy of the present invention is also designed to insure rapid dispensing of the anchor line immediately upon the deployment of the buoy in the water to thereby insure the accurate marking of a location by enabling the dispensing reel handle to be removed during deployment to prevent its resistance to the rotary movement of the dispensing reel. When deployed in the evening hours, the buoy makes special provisions for housing chemiluminescent light sources and thereby avoids the use of batteries and/or electrical contacts which may otherwise become corroded or easily shorted out in aqueous and especially salt water environments. The overall structure of the buoy of the present invention is also designed to create a maintenance free and corrosive resistant structure which is assembled and disassembled without tools.
2. History of the Art
Over the years there have been numerous types and styles of marine buoys designed to serve various functions. Marine buoys or floatable markers are not only used to define safe channels of passage through waterways but are also utilized to mark specific locations such as to identify specific fishing spots, traps for marine life including crab pots and lobster traps, or to mark specific subsurface locations so that such locations may be readily relocated for future research, investigation and/or testing.
Generally, buoy markers which are used to identify safe passages through waterways are complicated structures which are not readily portable nor are they designed to be readily retrievable as it is the purpose of such markers to maintain a specific location regardless of the water conditions. Such markers, therefore, must be constructed to insure that they are visible during high and low tides alike and that they are also visible during periods of high storm waters. These structures, which may be referred to as channel markers, are generally designed to be permanently anchored and are therefore not portable and are placed in position by heavy anchoring devices such as cables and chains which maintain the buoy in the properly fixed location.
Buoys of the type which are normally utilized to mark location have been designed and constructed in various shapes and sizes depending upon the type of waters in which they are to be deployed or the purposes which they are to serve In U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,215 to Colt et al., there is disclosed a marker which is designed to be deployed either from water or air craft and is of a type which is submerged below the surface of a body of water until such time as the buoy is released by a time release mechanism. This type of buoy is utilized to insure that the buoy marker will be at the proper location on the water's surface at a given time to provide safe indication of passage or identification of a specific location. The time delay control allows the buoy to be retained in a specific anchored position until such time as it is necessary to be displayed. In a similar manner, U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,019 to Brock discloses a submersible buoy having a timing mechanism incorporated therewith for automatically releasing the buoy to allow a marker to surface at a predesignated time. Again, such buoys are utilized to provide a marking in a water channel only at predetermined times thereby maintaining the channel normally unmarked. Submersible and time releasable buoys generally find most use in military applications and are not suitable for private individuals. Timing mechanisms and subsurface releasing mechanisms are complicated and costly to manufacture and are therefore not adequate for everyday use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,485 to Holm et al., a deep ocean buoy assembly is disclosed which is of the type which is utilized to mark a specific location in deep ocean waters. A buoy of this construction generally includes elongated hollow pipe sections which may extend 20 to 60 feet or more in length. Each of the pipe sections is hollow and the sections are normally welded together to form a composite structure which floats vertically due to the air retained within the pipes and because of the buoyant device mounted on top of the pipe column. The pipe marker is maintained in a somewhat fixed position by a weighted anchor which is attached to a cable or anchor line attached to the bottom of the pipe column. Again, such enlarged structures are not suitable for use by individuals who desire to mark a specific location with respect to an underwater area or perhaps a marine trap of some description.
Another example of generally large floatable buoy markers which are anchorable in either shallow or deep waters is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,716 to Zasada. The mooring device for the buoy disclosed in Zasada utilizes an anchor line which is automatically dispensed until such time as the anchor engages the bottom of the body of water after which the line is locked in fixed relationship with respect to a float member which is tied to a separate buoy marker by means of a separate cable. As with many of the other prior art devices, such a structure is overly complicated and not portable. An anchor of the type described normally utilizes anchor weights in excess of 200 pounds. In addition, the component parts of the device include many metallic elements which are incorporated with the anchor reeling mechanism which elements would become corroded and fouled over a very short period of time.
An example of a smaller marking buoy which is specifically adapted for use by individual boatspersons or fishermen is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,156 to Hamm. The marking device or buoy in Hamm discloses a signal flag which is mounted directly to the frame of a reel which has a deployable weight or anchor windingly supported thereto so that the anchor may be deployed by releasing the handle and allowing the weight to fall by gravity until the anchor line is dispensed to a point where the weight engages the bottom of the surface of the body of water. Although this type of buoy offers an alternative for a floatable marker which may be utilized by individual boaters, the structure utilizes a floatable reel assembly that exposes the anchor line dispensing reel to the effects of any surface water turbulence. Also, the handle of the buoy will retard the dispensing of the anchor line as the handle will be resisted by the water especially as the handle is rotated to a point of non-entry with the water. Such interference with the dispensing of the anchor line will delay the full deployment of the anchor thereby allowing the buoy or marker to drift from its initial mark. The buoy also includes a brake mechanism for the reel which requires that the mounting frame for the reel be perfectly aligned with the reel in order to prevent the reel from becoming wedges to the frame during deployment of the anchor line and thereby further retarding complete deployment of the anchor. As the weight of the flag associated with the buoy is mounted in offset relationship with respect to the frame, there is possibility that the frame will bind against the reel and prevent total deployment of the anchor or otherwise allow the anchor line to be released after initial placement thereby permitting the buoy to float off its true mark. In addition to the foregoing, this buoy structure does not provide any night guidance as there is no provision for supplying a light source which may be utilized to mark a given area in hours of darkness.
The use of lighted buoys itself is well known in the art. However, buoys utilizing light sources generally utilize a DC powered light source connected to a battery supply carried by the buoy. In the event of any leakage of water into the buoy structure, the electrical contacts soon become corroded and the light source ineffective. Further, the light source itself may be subject to damage by heavy wave action or by handling of the buoy during periods of storage or deployment.
From the foregoing, although buoys have been designed to be of various sizes and shapes and have been specifically designed to include automatic reeling mechanisms and have incorporated stabilizing weights and floats together or in combination with various signal sources, most prior art buoy devices are not suitable nor satisfactory for use by individual boaters. Most prior art buoys are not easily disassembled for storage in compact areas and are not designed to be relatively free of any components which are corrodible upon exposure to water or which may interfere with rapid dispensing of the anchor as they permit the buoys to drift from their true mark. In addition, prior art lighted buoys which are portable in nature operate utilizing electrical circuitry which is easily damaged and therefore become inoperative during a very short period of use.
Some additional examples of prior art buoys and buoy markers include U.S. Pat. Nos. 927,772 to Brust; 2,957,446 to Zasada; 3,196,469 to Anthony; 3,597,778 to Castelltz and 3,631,550 to Bullen.